Sparrow's Love
by Avina Garamond
Summary: Sephiroth is a Sparrow and Vincent is a Fairy. Too bad Fairies are part of the Sparrow diet... Shounin-ai. Critique welcome.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters (SE does). The idea is ALL mine. ) Miiiiiiine.

**Note: **I do not mention Sephiroth's arms or legs in this fic for a reason. Its up to your imagination if he has bird feet or if he has arms at all. Maybe his arms are wings. )

**Sparrow Love**

Avina Garamond

Sephiroth cocked his head, looking suspiciously at a fat green caterpillar. It crawled leisurely up a branch, towards newer, greener leaves. Sephiroth shook his head, hair shaking behind him between his wings. It tickled, and Sephiroth could not help but smile. He had a playful nature, and did not take things seriously for long.

He stood up to his full, four inch height. His skirt of feathers and bone rustled. He spread his wings, ready to take flight. They were a pleasant mixture of different shades of gray and brown. Sephiroth flapped them, warming up before his flight. He let go of the branch and flew down.

The caterpillar was as thick as he was and was about half of his height. Sephiroth snatched it from the branch and turned, flying towards his nest. He frowned upon the caterpillar. It wasn't large... It would only feed one of his hungry chicks.

He chirped, greeting his mate. She angrily chirruped back, already making it apparent she did not like how late he came. Sephiroth gave an exaggerated sigh of annoyance. His mate was darker than he was, with dark hair and blacks and dark grays streaking her feathers.

Earlier in the Spring, she had laid four greenish eggs, speckled with brown in the thicket by the largest clearing in the forest. One of the eggs never hatched. The other eggs however did, and Sephiroth was overjoyed with the appearance of two boy and one girl baby chicks. Their entire bodies were covered with wet fuzz. Soon they dried and Sephiroth had spent hours preening the little fuzz balls while his mate hunted.

Now it was nearing the end of Spring. One of the chicks had already tried to take flight. He ended up falling out of the nest and out of the tree. Sephiroth carried the bundle of feathers back to the nest, proud of his little chick for trying.

Sephiroth hovered over the nest, wondering which chick to give the caterpillar to. All three clamored for him under their mother's wings. Sephiroth smiled and dropped the caterpillar in his daughter's lap. It squirmed and she warbled a laugh before killing it. Sephiroth flew away in search of more prey.

He circled the clearing. It was surrounded by thick thickets and shrubs and bushes. Many sparrows wove their nests here. The oaks above provided shelter from the rain during the many showers.

Sephiroth settled on a low oak branch and surveyed the scene. Several Sparrows, like him, were playing in the middle of the clearing. They dive bombed each other and wrestled in the air or in the grass. Sephiroth watched their antics. He wanted to join, but he had chicks to feed. Those Sparrows were either bachelors or those who had lost their eggs.

Another Sparrow flew by and Sephiroth whistled a greeting. The Sparrow turned and flew back and sat on the branch close to Sephiroth. They chirped a little about their little chicks. The new Sparrow was Sephiroth's friend. His wings were a shocking brown, with barely any gray. He continuously ruffled and straightened his feathers as he chirped about his five chicklets.

Eventually, they both flew from the branch, each spotting several of the fattest caterpillars and collecting them. Sephiroth flew back to his brood, two giant squirming caterpillars in tow.

It was several days later that Sephiroth's oldest chick could fly. He flew rather clumsily and always ran into the prickly leaves of the thickets while following his father. He soon flew back to the nest, not able to catch up to the quick Sparrow.

Sephiroth smiled and whistled his son praise. He was proud of his little chick and he flew a lap of victory around the clearing.

Now... to find a caterpillar for himself...

He flew high, towards the lower boughs of the oaks. There were always caterpillars there. He paused and flew a circle around a bough. On the branch hung a solitary cocoon. Sephiroth landed on the branch next to the cocoon and prodded it. It was stiff, which meant fresh. He frowned. The caterpillar must have eaten himself quite fat if it made a cocoon this early. He decided to wait a few days before eating what was inside. Breaking into a cocoon now was just a hassle. He remembered the location of the cocoon, promising himself to eat it later.

Sephiroth nuzzled his little chicks fervently. His mate was out hunting so he took care of the clamoring little pests. They were rather large now and barely fit under his wings as they huddled close to him, trying to warm themselves in his down. Sephiroth warbled, heart bursting with joy.

He chittered to his chicks animately and alighted from the nest. His oldest followed, flying almost expertly after his father. His brave youngest, his daughter, followed and then his last chick. They chitted and chattered to each other, trying to race themselves to their father. But Sephiroth was quick and flew between branches of nearby bushes and swooped to the ground occasionally, catching them off guard.

They chirped in joyous, boisterous fun. Sephiroth finally landed on the ground next to a raspberry bush. He took a raspberry and ate it, seeds and all. His chicks followed suit, famished from their short flight.

Sephiroth whistled to his mate. They chirped and whistled to each other while watching their chicks play and hunt for caterpillars. Eventually, dusk came, and Sephiroth escorted his chicks back to the nest, and went on a hunt of his own.

He flew towards the cocoon he had spotted a few days earlier. It was shaking as if it were trapped in a storm. Sephiroth chirped delightedly. It would be a few hours until the cocoon broke and the habitant dried. Sephiroth decided to check first thing in the morning. He spent a few more minutes foraging for seeds, filling his grumbling stomach before flying back to the roost.

Sephiroth opened his eyes, the bright dawn light striking his face through a multitude of leaves. He remembered what he had to do and flitted out of the nest. He smiled in delight as he noticed that no other Sparrows had awoken yet. He flew to the cocoon.

Except... there was no cocoon. Sephiroth settled on a branch on a rather high thicket and watched. A slim figure held the branch and hung from it upside down, raven hair blowing in the breeze his wings created. The wings were black, and splashed with red as if he had bled on its wings. The wings flapped in a strict rhythm, drying.

Sephiroth decided to fly closer to the creature. He found another branch on the oak to sit on. The creature turned to him, incarnadine eyes watching him. Twin antennae perked from his hair and curled forwards. He took flight from its position and flew languidly to Sephiroth.

Two hands cupped Sephiroth's face and two lay on his shoulders. The Fairy kissed him on the lips, sweetly and slowly and confidently. It released him and flew into the forest, towards the rhododendrons.

Sephiroth sat on his branch, stunned. The creature was beautiful. His heart thundered in his chest as though he was flying. Suddenly... he knew he wasn't going to kill it. He smiled. He was going to play with it.

Fairies, like Butterflies, only live for a day. They hatch out of their cocoons, dry, play, mate, and die by nightfall. Sephiroth figured it would be lonely, waking up too early to find a mate or another Fairy to play with. He felt sympathy towards the creature.

However, that was soon gone. Sephiroth, like any Sparrow, was just too joyous to think about anything depressing for even a minute. He followed the Fairy to the rhododendrons. The Fairy flitted between the flowers, pulling off petals and stalks. He soon was wearing a skirt of flower petals.

Sephiroth sat on a rhododendron branch. The Fairy landed on the branch and walked to Sephiroth, skinny legs together and placing one foot in front of the other in a straight line. His wings were enormous compared to him. Sephiroth even feared the wind was going to blow and take him away.

The Fairy sat close to Sephiroth and wrapped his four arms around his neck and torso. Sephiroth decided to name him. He cast for a name and finally settled on Vincent. He twittered the name into the Fairy's ear. Vincent laughed playfully. His antennae uncurled and batted Sephiroth's hair gently. Sephiroth's wings enclosed them both, though he was careful not to touch Vincent's wings. He knew the little scales would dislodge like powder and Vincent would not be as beautiful as he was.

Vincent kissed him. Kissed his face, his neck, his shoulders, and his wings. No part went untouched and Sephiroth wondered if this was a courtship ritual Vincent had engraved in his head. Kissing was used in Sparrow courting after all... maybe not as often.

He gazed into Vincent's gentle red eyes. He decided to kiss him too. His lips descended upon the Fairy's. They shared a kiss, eyes closing contently. They parted and looked at each other silently. Vincent smiled playfully. Sephiroth took that as a sign of enjoyment and went for another kiss.

Vincent turned away and flitted off. Sephiroth near fell out of the rhododendron but caught himself and chased after the Fairy. It flew towards the clearing and Sephiroth's heart nearly stopped. If it flew into the clearing, the other Sparrows would see it. He cut it off and shook his head. He smiled and gave chase again.

Vincent flew faster than Sephiroth thought. He still wasn't a match for his speed, but he was not a lazy, fat Butterfly, full of nectar. They flew through the forest, chasing each other. Occasionally, Sephiroth had to stop for a berry or a seed to eat. Vincent would then catch him playfully, four arms circling him in sweet embraces.

They shared berry-flavored kisses and words and chirps sweeter than nectar. They never stopped smiling, or playing amidst the trees.

Sephiroth looked at the sun. It was low on the horizon now. He would have to return to the nest. He chirped a goodbye to the Fairy, telling him to have fun. He flew off, as fast as he could so that Vincent would not follow him.

His mate looked at him angrily and chattered his ears off for not caring for his chicks. Sephiroth only smiled. His chicks were lazy and content, bellies full of caterpillars. They curled up under his wings, nuzzling themselves into his down. The sun's last rays hid behind the horizon and the forest fell into darkness. Crickets sang lullabies, and moths fluttered about. Sephiroth watched the lightning bugs glow as his mate and chicks fell asleep. Soon, he too drifted into Sparrow dreams.

He was woken by a soft rosy glow. He thought that the dawn perhaps came early, and opened his eyes in wonder. To his surprise, he saw Vincent. Vincent flapped his wings a few times and descended into the nest. Sephiroth looked at his wings. It was the red splashes on his wings that glowed. Vincent embraced him soothingly.

He said he was tired. Sephiroth could not help but feel a pang of guilt in his heart. Vincent didn't know he was going to die. Sephiroth wrapped his wings around him and held his fragile body. They shared another kiss. Their last. Vincent fell asleep on Sephiroth's shoulder. Sephiroth listened to his easy breath. Maybe... maybe he would live another day... He fell into a slumber, holding the Fairy.

He woke with a cool body under his wings. He lifted his wings, expecting a dew-covered chick curling into him. His heart sank. Vincent lay, wings tightly closed, cold and unmoving. Sephiroth picked him up and flew away from his nest.

He decided to visit his friend. The near-chocolate colored Sparrow was about and moving, warming up before his first flight. Sephiroth chirped a greeting and lay the Fairy into the nest. He landed on the branch.

His friend asked him why. Sephiroth simply said he found an early treat. He wanted to help his friend feed his five chicks. He only had three after all, it was easier to feed three. His friend thanked him. Seeing his friend's mate waking, Sephiroth chirped a goodbye and flew off.

He sat on a branch in the rhododendrons, whistling sadly. His chest was fighting pains and tears streamed down his cheeks. Never had he felt this. And he never would again.

He didn't know it, but this was a Sparrow's love.


End file.
